I have joined this website, but I do not have Crohns. However, I have lived with it for over 10 years.
My older sister, who is now 24, was diagnosed with Crohns at the age of 15. At the time, I was only 12, and being so young I was ignorant most of the years of the trial and tribulation she had to go through between doctor appointments, medicines, BMs, pain, and everything in between. I'm 21 now and though I still don't know everything, I do know more and I do understand the hardships this plays now only in her life but everyones.
As I said, she is 24 now and as far as I know has gone through every Crohn's medicine there is and has become immune to them all. Recently she was hospitalized and was given the ultimatum of Cimzia or surgery, which would've meant cutting out the majority of her large intestine because of the inflamation and ulceration. Not wanting to start the surgery at such a young age, she chose Cimzia. We're waiting now to see how this will turn out.
She's more than just a victim of Crohns though. She's a mother of 2 kids, 6 and 2, she's a fiance, she dreams of being a social worker. I know she tries hard to hide it and continue with things normally as if everything is fine. But there are days where she can't get up from the couch because of the pain, and getting her to eat sometimes is a challenge in itself.
I know this may not be any different that some people on here, but that's why I joined. I'm tired of just sitting by and watch her be in pain and not know how to help or what to do. So I hoped that by being here I could learn more about this disease from an insider's perspective, find out ways to help physically or even just emotionally. Maybe even find a way to help put this thing in remission for a while so she can enjoy a semi-normal life for a little while.
My older sister, who is now 24, was diagnosed with Crohns at the age of 15. At the time, I was only 12, and being so young I was ignorant most of the years of the trial and tribulation she had to go through between doctor appointments, medicines, BMs, pain, and everything in between. I'm 21 now and though I still don't know everything, I do know more and I do understand the hardships this plays now only in her life but everyones.
As I said, she is 24 now and as far as I know has gone through every Crohn's medicine there is and has become immune to them all. Recently she was hospitalized and was given the ultimatum of Cimzia or surgery, which would've meant cutting out the majority of her large intestine because of the inflamation and ulceration. Not wanting to start the surgery at such a young age, she chose Cimzia. We're waiting now to see how this will turn out.
She's more than just a victim of Crohns though. She's a mother of 2 kids, 6 and 2, she's a fiance, she dreams of being a social worker. I know she tries hard to hide it and continue with things normally as if everything is fine. But there are days where she can't get up from the couch because of the pain, and getting her to eat sometimes is a challenge in itself.
I know this may not be any different that some people on here, but that's why I joined. I'm tired of just sitting by and watch her be in pain and not know how to help or what to do. So I hoped that by being here I could learn more about this disease from an insider's perspective, find out ways to help physically or even just emotionally. Maybe even find a way to help put this thing in remission for a while so she can enjoy a semi-normal life for a little while.
